This is the kind of game that reminds you exactly why we love the sport so much. While this game lacked some of the snarl of last year’s Philly-Columbus matchups, it had a few storylines with both teams trying to see if they can claw back up the rankings at all for the playoffs as well as the celebration of former Flyer Scott Hartnell’s 1,000th game. It had drama – as there were some interesting non-calls and the culmination of the Jackets storming back from a 3-1 deficit to ultimately win 4-3 in overtime.
It was a fun night and a great way to send off the home team before they hit the road for their next 5 games. Let’s take a look at the three stars as named by NHL.com:
3rd Star: Wayne Simmonds. You’ll get no argument for me on this star. Simmonds scored the first and third goals for the Flyers – the first was a beauty when he took the puck on his stick and drove into the zone and took an uncontested shot for the goal. The second was a rebound shot on the power play but without #17 the Flyers were a lot less scary on the ice.
2nd Star: Artem Anisimov. An Arty Party indeed. With Arty back you begin to remember why he’s so valuable. Defensively responsible, offensively dangerous – on the third line, and recovering from that tricep tear earlier in the season, we haven’t seen the snipey snipe skills of the young Russian as much (man I can’t wait for the backhand to rear it’s wonderful head here soon) but what a time for him to get on the scoresheet. After the valiant comeback to tie the game at three, in overtime, Wisniewski takes one of his wicked slappers from the point and Arty is right there to bang home the rebound. Game, set, match.
1st Star: Brandon Dubinsky. About two thirds of the way through this game, a Rangers fan friend of mine tweeted at me to ask how Dubi is doing. Said he really missed him being on the Rangers team. No question this has been a more difficult season for 17 – coming back from an intense surgery and missing a huge chunk of games – but tonight, much like Anisimov, you see what you love about his play so much. Dubi got the scoring going with the first goal of the night off a deflection. He also kept his nose to the grindstone through much of the game – particularly when there were questionable calls perhaps overlooked in play. That’s when you need a guy like Dubi who goes out and grinds every single second of every single shift. He sets the tone – he says with his play “keep at it.” Later on he would have the secondary assist on the third and tying goal. Great game for Mr. Dubinsky.
If Bret stops touring Dallas he may put a picture here
Stud. Jared Boll. Come on – throw the guy a bone. There was lots of good natured ribbing, but when you’re getting points from all your lines and one of your fourth line grinders gets his first goal of the season that’s a good sign that the team is clicking. How many times have we rolled our eyes to hear “so and so gets their first goal of the season” about the Jackets’ opponents. Well tonight we had that fun, so hey – go Jared Boll.
Dud. You know, I looked at the stats, I thought back on the game, and I can nitpick…but I’m not going to. I think it would have been cool to have interference called when CMac went down earlier in the game, and I think the home crowd could have amped up the volume a bit on Hartnell’s recognition…but why split hairs. In a season that has been a rough ride for all involved, let’s enjoy this nice win.
The Jackets are on the road for while now – and it starts tomorrow when they take on the HOT Islanders in their first meeting of the season. Should be interesting to see how these teams match up.
Carry the Flag
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